Tom Hitt is writing as if it doesn't matter.

Main menu

Post navigation

No One Is Looking At You

I have good news and bad news. The good news is no one is looking at you. The bad news is the same. Yep, we spend a lot of our waking hours vying for attention of some sort, but we sure don’t want it when we slip on a sidewalk. It’s yet another balance point for writers- and I have encouraging news for you. Right now no one is looking at you.

No one was looking at Arnold Schwarzenegger either. Have you heard of him? Yeah, I thought so. Well believe it or not, there was a time when you had absolutely no idea who he is. Can you remember that time? Of course not! He’s always been in your field of vision, right? That’s the way it is with our heroes and villains. They pop up on our radar and it feels like they’ve been there forever.

As a lowly writer (or lowly whatever you currently are right now) you’re constantly repositioning yourself to be “seen” or “not seen” just like in real life. Picking up your girlfriend at the end of the road because her father hates your guts? Unseen please. Strumming your guitar and singing your fresh new song at the local coffee shop? Make mine seen, leave room for cream. The tricky part is getting what you want when you want it; and as always the word balance comes into play.

Do you know who I’m looking at, thinking about right now as I type this? Me. The same guy that, as a baby was absolutely convinced when mommy left the room- *poof* – she was gone forever… until she peeked around the corner again. Then that little tyke started to put it together. “Hey, there’s another part of this world out there I haven’t even seen yet!”. Time to explore…

Folks, that baby is still inside you, trying to make sense of this nutty world. Reexamining your place in it. Attempting to make your own piece fit. If you’ve been here on terra firma long enough you know that the puzzle keeps changing, so your piece has to keep changing too. It’s not growth I’m talking about. I’m talking about self assessment. I’m talking about you, looking at your place in the world realistically. This kind of thinking helps shield you from those rejections (or perceived rejections). This kind of thinking keeps your overall perspective in order. This kind of thinking gives you confidence so that when the time is right and people really are looking at you, you’ll be ready.

How are you going to build your own Arnold Schwarzenegger in the mirror? Well, don’t worry about that quite yet. Just get into position and be ready, content in the knowledge that right now – no one is looking at you. ~TH~